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Copy l HOW TO 

TEACH AGRICULTURE 



BY THE AUTHORS OF 
"AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS" 



REVISED 



GINN AND COMPANY 

BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON 



HOW TO 
TEACH AGRICULTURE 



BY THE AUTHORS OF 
"AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS^ 






vT\A-> 



REVISED 



GINN AND COMPANY 

BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON 



COPYRIGHT, 1906, 1914, BY GINN AND COMPANY 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

714.9 

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DOSTON • 



GINN AND COMPANY • PRO- 
PRIETORS • UOSTUN • U.S.A. 



HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 

A child is educated for two reasons : first, that he may know 
— know widely, accurately, systematically ; second, that he may 
do — do intelligently, honestly, and efficiently. This being true, 
it follows that from an educational point of view agriculture is 
one of the most useful sciences. It offers in a preeminent way 
a wide field for accurate, interesting, uplifting knowledge — a 
knowledge of the relationship and adjustment of all the forces 
of nature ; and at the same time it offers a wide field for doing. 
This latter field is healthful, honorable, lucrative, and independent. 

Agriculture is therefore both a cultural and a practical study. 
It is cultural because it is concerned with the highest truths 
that the mind can consider; namely, the laws of life, of growth, 
of heredity, of adaptation, of selection, of environment. It deals 
with the greatest objects in nature ; namely, the ground, the 
waters, the forests, the crops by which all life is supported, the 
animals that cover the earth. It views all these objects in rela- 
tion to universal laws and shows their interdependence. 

In the next place agriculture is the most practical of 
sciences. The knowledge acquired from it can at once be ap- 
plied to life. It is also practical in that it shows the relation 
between cause and effect. It is not sufficient that a man should 
know that clover increases the fertility of land. He should know 
how it does this, just as he knows how interest is computed. 
It is not enough for a man to be told that good plowing 
makes better crops. He should know why it does this, just as 



2 HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 

he knows how his multiplication table is made. Both as an in- 
telligent and as a practical being he is interested in knowing 
how bacteria cause milk to sour, how germs assist in cream- 
making and in butter-making, why ashes are helpful to plants, 
why drainage is good for the soil, and countless other things 
that are as easily taught as the facts of arithmetic and of geog- 
raphy and that are far more interesting and useful. 

What to teach and what not to teach 

In agriculture, of all studies, the teacher should aim to teach 
not so much the how as the why of things, in order that a 
knowledge of the why may cause the how to be the more 
intelligently done. 

The teacher, therefore, need not undertake to show the pupil 
how to plow but rather to show him from the text what is to 
be gained from the right kind of plowing. The pupil, having 
acquired this information, will plow aright when he comes to 
plow, for he will understand the aims and results of good tillage. 

In like manner the teacher is not expected to have milk cans 
at the schoolhouse in order to show pupils how to scald and sun 
them. However, if the pupil is taught that dirty cans harbor 
germs and that these germs spoil the milk and also carry dis- 
ease, he will attend to his milk cans when he goes into business 
for himself, and by having better milk he will succeed better. 

The teacher cannot, of course, always have an orchard in 
which to show how to prune and spray fruit, but by following 
the text the teacher can show how spraying and proper pruning 
improve the fruit, and can also take a walk with the pupils and 
show them some orchard that is properly cared for. Then when 
these pupils have orchards of their own they will find ways and 
means to apply their knowledge. 

In short, teaching the simple truths that lie at the very door 
of successful farming and of good living is all that is expected 
of the teacher. These truths are all set forth in the text-book. 



HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 3 

Remember that the acquisition of a large number of facts does 
not make a successful man or woman. The facility given by 
study, the power of thought, the turning of fresh minds to 
primary truths, the bent in the right direction — these are the 
things that give people a grasp that leads to able doing. Any 
earnest teacher can give this primary push. 

The Teacher's Attitude towards Agriculture 

Do not think that you have to know all agriculture to teach 
some. Your aim is not to teach girls and boys to be model 
farmers ; that will come of itself if you turn their young minds 
to a first-hand study of agricultural truths. If you arouse their 
interest in the plants around them, if you awaken their sympathy 
and love for animals, if you teach them the simple and beautiful 
laws of nature that control the growth of both plants and ani- 
mals, your work is done, and a grand work it is. You need not 
fear the result. Your pupils will love the country and will rarely 
consider leaving the farm. They will be happy, intelligent, and 
prosperous farmers and housewives. Their homes will be centers 
of refinement and comfort. 

When you approach this subject bear in mind the following 
points : 

1. Have confidence in yourself and in your subject. The 
subject is worthy, so approach it with earnestness and a de- 
termination to make it an agent for uplifting and beautifying 
country and home life. 

2. Teach agriculture as you would any other subject. See 
that each pupil has a book. Assign a lesson, see that the pupils 
study it at home and in school, and make sure by questioning 
during the recitation hour that they have learned the cardinal 
facts of the lesson. 

3. Do not of course waste the time of the pupils by requiring 
them to memorize the words of the book. See to it that the 
pupil has mastered the lesson well enough to give it in his own 



4 HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 

words. His answers should smack of his own individuality. 
Try to lead each pupil to study this lesson with an eye on the 
book and an eye also on the field that he passes, on the insect 
that he hears, and on the plant that he sees. 

4. Let some of your language lessons and composition sub- 
jects be drawn from your study of agriculture. This will quicken 
observational habits and make the work of composition easier. 
Pupils do not dread writing so much when they are fairly 
familiar with the subjects on which they are required to write. 
Your work in composition can, then, with advantage and com- 
fort, be drawn from the practical subjects studied in agricul- 
ture. For instance, let the pupils write an account of one of 
the simple experiments performed in the schoolroom, or give an 
account of a walk taken with the teacher to some neighboring 
wood or farm, or a little story of how bees carry pollen from 
flower to flower, or the points of difference between a beef and 
a daiiy cow. These everyday subjects will appeal to the chil- 
dren, and they will write with more satisfaction to themselves 
and with more confidence in their own powers than they usually 
do. Moreover, this practice will teach them to watch sharply 
in order that they may write with ease. 

Class Organization and Study 

1. If the school is ungraded, include in the class in agricul- 
ture all the boys and girls who are able to read the fourth reader. 
If the school is a graded one and has two or more teachers, let 
agriculture be taught in the fifth grade. 

2. Encourage the members of the class to read the lesson 
at home with their parents. They will in this way get the 
benefit of the practical experience of their parents, and at the 
same time they will interest their parents in a more scientific 
study of farming. 

3. Do not rely on an oral teaching of the lesson without 
books. A child's ears should be assisted by his eyes. He can- 
not do his best work without a definite study of a definite lesson. 



HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 5 

Teaching the Lesson 

i. Review the last lesson. The teacher can conduct this re- 
view by asking some pupil for a general summary of the last 
lesson or by asking special questions that cover the facts in the 
lesson. This review ought, of course, to be brief and ought to 
cover only the vital points. 

2. After the review let the day's lesson be taken up earnestly 
and with the aid of any objects that may stimulate interest and 
awaken attention. These can be provided with very little trouble 
and no expense. One day you may use a handful of poor soil 
and a handful of good soil and point out some of the differ- 
ences ; another day a root, a flower seed, a diseased plant, a 
pestilential weed, an ear of seed corn, or any of a thousand and 
one objects that will suggest themselves from a study of the text 
may be used. 

A Suggested Form for One Lesson 

The following will suggest one way of teaching the lesson. 
Of course many other ways could be suggested, and original 
ways will suggest themselves to each teacher. 

Suppose the lesson to begin at Section III, p. 9, "Agriculture 
for Beginners." The topic is The Moisture of the Soil. 

Teacher. John, you may read the first paragraph. 

Jo/in. " Did any one ever explain to you how important water 
is to the soil, or tell you why it is so important? Often, as you 
know, crops entirely fail because there is not enough water in the 
soil for the plants to drink. How necessary is it, then, that the soil 
be kept in the best possible condition to catch and hold enough water 
to carry the plant through dry, hot spells ! Perhaps you are ready to 
ask, ' How does the mouthless plant drink its stored-up water ? ' " 

Teacher. Grace, have you ever seen a time when crops were suf- 
fering for water ? 

Grace. I have seen the grass dry and brown and withered. 

Teacher. A lack of water in the soil caused the grass to wither. 
Albert, you may read the second paragraph. 



6 HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 

Albert. " The plant gets all its water through its roots. You have 
seen the tiny thread-like roots of a plant spreading all about in 
fine soil ; they are down in the ground taking up plant food and 
water for the stalk and leaves above. The water, carrying plant food 
with it, rises in a simple but peculiar way through the roots and 
stems." 

Teacher. Edith, which kind of plant holds most water, green or 
dry? 

Edith. Green. Corn and hay become dry when cut and left in the 
sun. The water escapes into the atmosphere. 

John. Hay becomes much lighter and easier to handle after drying. 
I know that from experience. 

Teacher. Have you ever examined the roots of corn or cabbage 
or clover? Are they thread-like ? Henry may answer. 

Henry. They are. I have seen them spread all about in the 
fine soil. 

Teacher. How many have ever examined the roots of a growing 
plant ? 

[Here some hands will doubtless go up, but many will not.] 

Teacher. Every one of you should examine the roots of some 
plant. Suppose to-morrow each one of you brings to class a small 
plant. Dig the plant yourself and wash the soil from the roots. 1 

Teaclier. What do the roots do in the soil ? George, you may 
answer. 

George. They take up water and plant food. 

Teacher. Anything else, George, that you can think of? 

[George may or may not know. Open the question to the class. 
Some one may mention that roots keep the plant in place, that they 
loosen and open the soil, etc. These questions and answers cause 
the pupils to think and to seek more information for themselves.] 

Teacher. Grace, will you read the next paragraph? 

[Grace reads.] 

Teacher. Thomas, what use does the plant make of the food which 
it takes through its roots? 

1 This will make an interesting object lesson for the next day. One plant will 
show a long tap root, another will show many branching roots, while others will 
show variations in form and growth. Teach the children to study these differences 
by themselves. 

R 



HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 7 

Thomas. Builds new tissue. 

[Here the teacher may explain the idea of growth and enlargement. 
It will be interesting to the children to know how the food of an ani- 
mal or plant goes to make the very sort of material needed in the 
body. An entertaining story can be furnished by this subject.] 

Teacher. What becomes of the water when it reaches the leaves ? 
Edith may answer. 

Edith. It passes from the leaves into the air. 

Teacher. Henry, why do leaves shrink up? 

Henry. The leaves do this in order to keep the water from passing 
too rapidly into the air. 

Teacher. A rapid passage of water matters little when there is an 
abundance of it in the soil, but when the soil is hot and dry, this is 
nature's way of limiting the daily supply. 

How to have Pupils explain Parts of Lesson 

Try to train the pupils to be thorough in getting the meaning 
of the text. The teacher should drill them in giving, in their 
own words, a summary of a paragraph, of a topic, and of a 
lesson. Take the next paragraph of the same section, The 
Moisture of the Soil. The recitation may be carried on in the 
following manner : 

Teacher. Charles, you may tell what means can be used to keep 
the soil in such a condition as to have a supply of water for very 
dry times. 

Charles. Deep plowing will help ; subsoiling will be helpful, since 
it loosens the soil and thereby enables it to hold more water than a 
shallow soil can ; then, also, the addition of any kind of vegetable 
matter will help. 

Teacher. George, can you add anything ? 

George. Cultivating the soil is also helpful. 

Teacher. Does any one wish to ask Charles or George a question ? 

Margaret. Why does George say that cultivating the soil is 
helpful? 

George. Because cultivation forms a dry, fine mulch of the top 
soil. This serves the same purpose that straw or a board would serve, 



8 HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 

were either used to cover the soil. You know it is always moist under 
a board, no matter how hot and dry the weather is. 

Margaret. Is that the reason the farmer cultivates his corn and 
cotton ? 

George. That is one of the reasons. 

Teacher. What are other reasons ? 

( 'harles. To get rid of weeds. 

Teacher. That is correct. Any other? Henry? 

Henry. Cultivation also loosens the soil and makes it mellow and 
fine. 

[The teacher may say a word about soil-making at this point, de- 
scribing how soil is being made at all times and how important it is 
for the farmer to assist in the work at every opportunity. When 
this topic is exhausted, the teacher calls for the next topic by asking 
William to explain what the topic says.] 

William. The soil takes in water and holds it. When the ground 
gets dry on top, the water rises as oil does in a lamp wick. People 
call this capillarity. 

Teacher. Is there any question you wish to ask about this? 

Mary. I don't clearly understand what " capillarity " means. 

Teacher. The next paragraph will explain better, so we will pass 
on to it. Henry, you may read the next paragraph. 

[Henry reads, and questions are asked by pupils and teacher; and 
so on to the end of the lesson.] 

It often happens that one of the pupils asks a question which 
the teacher does not know how to answer. Let the teacher be 
perfectly frank and admit that he does not know. At the same 
time let him say that he will take pleasure in finding a satisfac- 
tory answer, and let him be particular to ask the class to join 
in a search for the desired answer. Both the cooperation and 
the confidence will be helpful. 

The teacher should remember that we have hundreds of 
agricultural experiment stations and scientific laboratories 
where men and women are at work trying to find answers to 
agricultural questions. Don't be surprised or embarrassed if a 
great many questions are asked which you cannot answer. Who 



HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 9 

can answer all the questions that a child can ask ? The teacher 
Can always write to the agricultural college and experiment 
station of his state for answers to difficult questions or he 
can ask some good farmer. 



There should be no Memorizing 

Do not ask pupils to memorize the text. Get them to answer 
questions and to make all explanations in their own words. 
Much harm has been done to children by compelling them to 
commit lessons to memory in order that they might receive 
perfect marks. 

A pupil who tells in his own words the main part of a lesson, 
though minor parts are unuttered, has had more true mental 
drill than his classmate who memorizes the lesson, but who is 
likely to forget it in a short time. The latter learned to memo- 
rize but failed to learn how to think. Agriculture must train to 
right thinking. 

Written Work about the Lesson 

It will be desirable at times to vary the plan of recitation. 
Let the pupil try his descriptive power by writing parts of the 
lesson. 

The teacher may say "After you have studied your lesson in 
agriculture to-day you may write for me, in your own words, an 
abstract of the lesson " (or, of a certain topic in the lesson). 

The teacher may write on the blackboard a few topics as a 
guide. After some drill in this writing, however, the pupils 
will not need guidance. 

Written work may include, also, short descriptive sketches of 
observation walks into surrounding country for the purpose of 
observing interesting agricultural features of the community : 
special crops, new feeds of animals, improved machinery, special 
methods of cultivation of crops, road making. 



IO HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 

EXPERIMENTS 

Experiments are a desirable feature of agricultural teaching. 
They serve 

i. To stimulate interest. 

2. To quicken observation. 

3. To lead to new thought and to investigation. 

4. To link old truths with new truths. 

The teacher should bear in mind that his effort is not so 
much to help the pupil as it is to help the pupil to help him- 
self. The secret of good teaching lies in following this cardinal 
principle. 

Plan not to overdo the experiment side of teaching. You 
will not need an experiment for every day. An experiment 
each week, or as nearly once a week as is convenient, will be 
sufficient. You want the class to engage in this work. The 
teacher should help, but should let the members of the class 
prepare the material and conduct the experiments. 

The teacher can, however, introduce new experiments when 
he finds one that appeals to him. 

Here, for example, is one. The object of the experiment is 
to show how cultivation checks the evaporation of moisture 
from the soil. Take two lumps of loaf sugar. Place one lump 
on top of the other, on a saucer or on a plate. Slowly pour a 
little ink on the plate or in the saucer. The lower lump will 
quickly take up the ink by capillary attraction, and the whole 
lump will soon be saturated. The top lump will not get the 
ink until considerable time has elapsed, because the air spaces 
between the lumps check the upward flow. 

Cultivation of the soil acts in the same way as the joint be- 
tween the lumps. The cultivating tools break off the tops of 
the soil tubes that carry the water upwards, and the dry dust 
acts as a mulch, or blanket, to keep the water in the soil tubes. 



HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE II 

Two Kinds of Experiments 

Not all experiments can or should be performed in school. 
The object of all experimentation is to stimulate the ambition 
of pupils to find out things and to do things for themselves. 
Therefore the teacher will recognize two kinds of experi- 
ments — the school experiment and the home and vacation 
experiment. 

Some School Experiments 

Pages 

i. How Water rises in the Soil 14 

2. Effect of Drainage 17 

3. Effect of Air in Soils 17 

4. Root Tubercles 33 

5. Plan of Crop-Rotation 37 

6. Carbon 40 

7. Study of Flowers 4-2-5 1 

8. Collecting Weed Seeds 72 

9. Germination of Seeds 75 

Some Home Experiments 

1. Preparation and Treatment of the Soil ... 20 

2. Seed Selection 65 

3. Selecting Seed Corn 68 

4. Raising a Fruit Tree 88 

5. Oat Smut 135 

6. Potato Scab 14° 

7. Corn Cultivation 202 

The Pupils' Part 

Let the pupils freely ask questions. We often learn more 
by asking questions than we do from the answers. It is an 
excellent plan to require pupils to make a list of questions 



12 HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 

as a part of the preparation of the lesson. Let these ques- 
tions include original interrogations as well as questions 
suggested by the book. 

The teacher does not need to answer all the questions. 
Often the greatest good will result from letting the pupils 
find out the answers. The teacher may make a list of his 
own questions or a list from the questions asked by pupils 
or combine both. 

These questions may be written on the blackboard or 
written by each pupil in his notebook. Considerable interest 
and profit will result from such questions. 

Review the Work frequently 

The teacher should be in no hurry to cover the text. Review 
frequently. In these reviews it is well, if possible, to present 
the lessons in a different form from that in which they were 
presented the first time. Hence if the teacher will use a few 
minutes each day in making out questions and stating the topics 
of the lesson, as is done in the following outlines, the synopsis 
will be very helpful. Such an outline gives in an easily remem- 
bered form the vital facts of the lesson. 



CHAPTER I. THE SOIL 
Section I. Origin of the Soil 

What is the soil ? 

I (ifference between soil and subsoil. 

How do heat and cold make soil ? 

[ Explain how frost, ice, and water make soil. Have you seen the 
effect of each? Have your pupils ? Lead the pupils to sec. to think, 
and to tell what they have seen.] 

What relation has rock to soil ? 

Examine different kinds of soil. 



HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 13 

Section II. Tillage of the Soil 

What made Jethro Tull famous ? 

What lesson has he taught us ? 

What tools are needed for tillage ? 

The air as a soil-maker. 

What good tillage does. 

How to make the soil deep and productive. 

Section III. The Moisture of the Soil 

The plant needs water. 

Water and plant food. 

How dry weather affects plants. 

Ways of holding water in the soil. 

Capillarity of water in the soil. 

Keeping water in the soil. 

What cultivation does. 

Section IV. How the Water rises in the Soil 

Soil dry on top. 

Soil moist below the surface. 

How water rises. 

Experiment : To show the rise of water in the soil. 

Section V. Draining the Soil 

Drainage a valuable improvement. 
Benefit from draining the soil. 
Tile drains. 

Superiority of tile drainage. 
Experiments : 

1. To show effect of drainage. 

2. To show effect of air in soil. 

Section VI. Improving the Soil 

Virgin soils. 

How to reclaim old soils. 

What tillage does. 



14 HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 

The value of humus. 

How to add humus. 

Experiment : To show good and poor preparation of soil. 

Section VII. Manuring the Soil 

The first use of fertilizers in America. 

The way to ruin the soil. 

The way to build the soil. 

The forms of nitrogen in fertilizers. 

The forms of phosphorus. 

The forms of potassium. 



CHAPTER II. THE SOIL AND THE PLANT 
Section VIII. Roots 

Do roots branch regularly, as do twigs? 
How deep do the roots of corn plants extend into the soil ? 
Examine the root hairs of seeds planted in the germinator. 
Why does a plant wither when it is cut from its roots? 
How does a knowledge of the length of roots affect tillage ? 
Examine plants in the field and find which are deep-rooted and 
which are shallow-rooted. 

Section IX. How the Plant feeds from the Soil 

Food must be in a soluble condition in order to be used by a plant. 
Work out carefully the experiment shown in Fig. 22. 

Section X. Root-Tubercles 

What is a root-tubercle ? 
The plants they grow on. 
Where they live. 
Their value to agriculture. 

Experiment : To examine and study different kinds of root- 
tubercles 



HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 15 

Section XI. The Rotation of Crops 

The reason for crop-rotation. 

Not all crops use the same kind of food. 

How to adjust crops to the land. 

Making a plan for crop-rotation. 

A help in soil improvement. 

Make a plan for crop-rotation to suit individual conditions. 

CHAPTER III. THE PLANT 1 
Section XII. How a Plant feeds from the Air 

What is carbon ? 

Demonstrate the existence of carbon in paper, wood, cloth, and 
hay by burning them. 

Is a large or a small portion of a plant made of carbon? 

Where does this carbon come from ? 

Is there much carbon in the air ? 

Why is the supply inexhaustible? 

What two things are necessary in order that the plant may get 
its carbon from the air? 

Into what is carbon made, and how are these substances stored in 
the plants ? 

Section XIII. The Sap Current 

In what direction does the sap move through the wood ? through 
the bark ? 

How does an injury to the leaves cause injury to the roots? 

In what way does girdling affect trees? Do not neglect to 
have your pupils make the experiment suggested in the exercise 
accompanying this section. 

1 Farmers' Bulletin, No. 586. " Collection and Preservation of Plant Materials 
for Use in the Study of Agriculture." This bulletin will be found helpful and sug- 
gestive. Address United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 
It will be sent free. 



l6 HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 

Section XIV. The Flower and the Seed 

What is the object of a flower? 

Do all plants which bear seeds have flowers? 

[Examine the blossom of the elm in early spring; also bring into 
your class large blossoms from various kinds of plants, and have 
your pupils locate and recognize the different parts and learn to know 
them by name. Show them particularly, if possible, blossoms of the 
cucumber, squash, and watermelon. Examine the blossoms of some 
plant near the schoolhouse while they are still unopened and in a 
very young condition. Try to watch them day by day to see how 
fast they open and how fast the fruit ripens. Some plant which has 
a fairly large fruit will be especially favorable for this study.] 

Section XV. Pollination 

Examine many plants to see what the method of pollination is. 

Which of our food plants are pollinated by bees? Which by the 
flies ? W T hich by the wind ? 

See if you can find, in the blossom, the nectar which the bee is 
after. Cover some flowers with paper bags before they open, to pre- 
vent the visit of insects, and note whether such blossoms mature 
seeds or not. See if you can get an answer by observation to the 
various questions asked in the exercise. [Have your children observe 
closely a visit of the bees to the blossoms, noting in such instances 
a bee thoroughly dusted with pollen.] 



CHAPTER V. HORTICULTURE 

Sections XXV, XXVI. Market Gardening, and 
Flower ( Iardening 

What is included in the art of horticulture ? 

What does the landscape gardener seek to produce? 

What home grounds in your community are best kept and seem 
to be an example of good landscaping ? 

What aids has the market gardener employed in cold climates ? 

< live four rules to guide one in the care and cultivation of garden 
crops. 



HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 1 7 

What general rule should be followed in planting home grounds ? 
Name three plants that may be grown from cuttings. 
What is the difference between a bulb and a corm ? 
How may the vigor and blooming power of a flowering plant be 
prolonged ? 

What are annuals ? 

Name six common annuals of your neighborhood. 

What are the common perennials of your neighborhood? 



CHAPTER VIII. FARM CROPS 
Section XXXV. Cotton 

Importance of the cotton plant. 
Kinds of soil for cotton. 
The climate for cotton. 
Increased acreage and importance of cotton. 
Varieties of cotton. 
Improvement of cotton. 
Methods of culture and production. 
The demands which cotton makes on the soil. 
Relation of live stock to cotton crop. 

The teacher* may point out the relation of cotton to industrial 
progress ; also its place in history. 

Section XXXVI. Tobacco 

An important crop in our early history. 
Where tobacco grows. 
Choice of soil. 

Keeping the tobacco soil fertile. 
The story of growth. 
Making the seed bed. 
Transplanting. 
Culture. 
Harvesting. 
Varieties. 

[In connection with the study of this crop let the teacher explain 
its importance in our early history, when it was used as money.] 



1 8 HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 

Section XXXVII. Wheat 
An ancient crop. 
Wheat soil. 
The seed bed. 
Planting and fertilizing. 
Varieties of wheat. 

Exercise : Small and large heads of wheat. 
[The teacher can refer his geography class to this crop.] 
In what parts of the world is wheat grown to-day? 
What are the leading wheat countries ? 
The opening of the great W T est and the wheat industry. 
The four centers of the world. 



CHAPTER X. DOMESTIC ANIMALS 
Section LVL Swine 

Where swine came from. 

Much profit in raising hogs. 

Breeds of swine. 

Cleanliness of swine houses and troughs. 

Section LVII. Farm Poultry 

Classes of farm poultry. 

Importance of the industry. 

Kinds of fowl. 

Care of poultry. 

[The teacher will find this a good subject for composition.] 

Section LVIII. Bee Culture 

Breed selection. 
Common breeds. 
Character of each breed. 
Pasture crops. 
Habits of the bee. 
Enemies of the bee. 



HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 19 

Section LIX. Why we feed Animals 

The uses of food. 
Substance in food. 
Classes of food stuff. 
Compounding of foods. 

CHAPTER XI. FARM DAIRYING 
Section LX. The Dairy Cow 

Feeding the dairy cow. 
Care of the cow. 

Section LXI. Milk, Cream, Churning, and Butter 

Care of milk, cream, and butter. 

The need of cleanliness. 

Relation of milk to disease. 

[The teacher will do much good by dwelling on this section. Milk 
is a universal food. Thousands of children die annually because of 
unclean or poor milk.] 

Section LXII. How Milk sours 

Cause of souring. 

Methods of delaying souring. 

Precautions in cleansing utensils. 

Precautions during milking. 

Influence of the germ in cheese-making and butter-making. 

AN OBSERVATION WALK 

It will be well occasionally to take your pupils for a walk 
in the neighborhood of your schoolhouse. There are always 
many things of interest to be seen by the pupils, and many 
a point of your lessons in agriculture can be enforced by an 
observation lesson in the field. Then, too, there is a feeling of 
good fellowship and confidence established between teacher and 
pupil by this out-of-door comradeship. 



20 HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 

Whom to take 

In deciding whom to take you should consider the nature, 
purpose, and length of the walk. If it is to be a short walk, take 
your whole school. If it is to be a long walk for the special 
purpose of visiting some distant field, farm, meadow, or forest, 
take only those who are strong enough for the trip and who 
are interested in the objects to be seen. In general, there are 
walks of three kinds : 

i. Short walks of general interest. Invite the whole school 
to go on these. 

2. Walks of a more strictly agricultural nature. On these 
it will be best to take only your pupils in agriculture. 

3. A combination of the two. You will, of course, take the 
whole school on these combination walks. 

When to go 

Some of the walks may be taken immediately after school, 
some at the noon hour. In other cases you should take fif- 
teen, thirty, or forty-five minutes of your regular school time 
for this purpose ; or you may go during the closing minutes 
of the noon hour or recess and return fifteen or thirty minutes 
after the usual assembling time ; or, again, you may dismiss 
school fifteen or thirty minutes earlier than usual and continue 
your walk as long as you deem wise. It should be made clear 
to the pupils that the walk is not a frolic or a recess, hut that 
they are really to learn something. 

What to look for 

Lei anything of interest claim your attention — a hibernating 
insect, an egg-laying butterfly, a leaf-gnawing worm or bug. It 
will always be well for you to go over the ground in advance 
of your class and find some of the chief objects of interest. 
Keep all the children busy. If. for the moment, there be nothing 



HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 21 

of special interest, ask them to search for injurious insects, wild 
flowers, weeds in seed ; to note the leaves of various kinds of 
trees, the bark of trees, the cries and flight of various birds, etc. 
Let each walk also have some special object ; as, for example, 
the observation of the number of kinds of weeds to be found 
in the region traversed. As you walk you may also call the chil- 
dren's attention to any agricultural object lesson in sight. Ask 
such questions as these : " Is this field cultivated too deeply or 
not deeply enough ? Why ? Which of these cotton plants is the 
better? Which would furnish the best seed for next year's crop ? 
Are there any corn plants with no ears in this field ? any with 
one ear ? any with two ears ? any with three ears ? Which plant 
bears the most corn ? Which will produce the best seed corn ? 
What is the name of that weed over there ? How many names 
can each give for it ? Which do you think is the best name ? Is 
it a bad weed ? Why ? Where does it grow ? How long does it 
live? What kind of seeds has it? How does it spread? Does it 
make many seeds ? Let us send a good specimen of it to our 
experiment station and find out what its real name is. Let us also 
gather seeds and plants, and put both in our school collection. 

Yes (in answer to a question), that is a cocoon. Bring it with 
you, and we will put it in our breeding cage in the schoolroom 
and see what kind of moth will come from it. Is that cow fitted 
for making beef or milk ? Why ? Do any of you know what such 
a cow would cost ? How much milk will she give daily ? Is she 
a Jersey ? How do you know ? What is the matter with this 
apple ? When did the worm get into it ? What will become of 
the worm ? Could this kind of injury be prevented ? " 

After-Use of the Walk 

" Our Walk " should be made the topic of an essay or com- 
position on the following day, or you may have a blackboard 
exercise by asking volunteers to tell what they learned or saw, 
and listing the items until you have thus secured an inventory 



22 HOW TO TEACH AGRICULTURE 

of the mental accessions of the whole class. Make it a practice 
to fix the knowledge gained in a walk by some kind of a review 
on the following day or on your return to the school. 



FINAL WORD TO THE TEACHER 

No matter how limited your instruction in agriculture may 
be, if it sets your pupils to thinking about the subject, if it 
starts them to reading about the business they are to follow, 
if it introduces them to plant and animal life for culture only, 
if it prepares them to be experimenters, if it makes them ac- 
quainted with the literature of farming — you have made their 
lives. This great power is in your hands. Who shall hinder you 
from using it ? 



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